Flying Without Wings
by Reina Ariadne
Summary: Never in Kaito's wildest dreams (and believe him, his dreams are pretty much as wild as it gets) had he imagined that teaming up with the detective to stop the organisation after them once and for all would lead to all this. It was, all in all, one of the best decisions he's ever made in his whole life.


Beta'd by MissParasol. She's also to thank for encouraging me to post this little oneshot after I got cold feet at the last minute and wanted to chicken out of posting. Please enjoy!

Summary: Never in Kaito's wildest dreams (and believe him, his dreams are pretty much as wild as it gets) had he imagined that teaming up with the detective to stop the organisation after them once and for all would lead to all this.

It was, all in all, one of the best decisions he's ever made in his whole life.

* * *

 _Kuroba Kaito, age 19. The night it all began._

"Wake up!" _Slap._

"Come on, KID! _Wake up!_ " Another sharp sting of pain finally broke through to his consciousness, and Kaito's eyes flew open to meet startled blue ones. _Tantei-kun?_ Was his befuddled mind's first thought. But the face floating above his was clearly matured- that of a young adult instead of a child's, with a distinct lack of glasses.

"Meitantei...?"

Kudo Shinichi was kneeling on top of him, one hand cupping the right side of his face, the other still raised in mid-slap. He looked concerned. "Yes, it's me. Are you okay? Can you walk? We should get you out of here." Kaito's first instinct- to question why a _detective_ was helping _him_ of all people- was overrun by the urgency in the other's voice, spurring him into action. He clambered unsteadily to his feet and stumbled into the building, the detective's steadying grip heavy on his arm. Kaito vaguely noted that he had been sprawled on the fire escape of the building his heist target was in, but how he got there was an unsettling gap in his memory.

"What happened?" Kaito asked, touching the back of his head and hiding a wince at the sharp throb of pain it brought. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to his brain, then a drill for good measure. Shinichi turned back to look at him, his eyebrows furrowed in worry (Worry? For him? Ha, he must have hit his head pretty hard to be thinking that). "A sniper shot at you after you got to the roof, but I tackled you down and we fell off, to the fire escape below. You...Adjusted our landing and took most of the impact for the both of us. You don't remember?" He frowned, peering into Kaito's face. "Your pupils are different sizes. I think you've probably got a mild concussion from the fall."

Kaito fought to hide a blush at their proximity. This was only his second time seeing Kudo Shinichi in the flesh, and he hadn't been prepared for how _attractive_ he found him. He knew that he already admired the detective for his mind, but physically... He could see where Conan's soft jawline had developed into something more defined and masculine, and his athletic ability as a soccer player was evident in broad shoulders, a tapered waist, and strong legs.

Hell, he was _hot_ , even Kaito's concussed brain could see that.

Shinichi tugged him further into the building until they reached an empty room, quickly pulling the door closed behind them. Kaito sank down against the wall, the room spinning nauseatingly around him. He squeezed his eyes shut against the bile rising at the back of his throat only to open them again at the sound of the detective's voice.

"Do you think you can take care of yourself from here? We can't stay here for long. And you should really get your head checked out after this." Shinichi was looking at him with unguarded concern on his face, and Kaito offered him a weak grin.

"Heh, don't worry about me, Meitantei. My assistant already knows where I am. He should be here soon." Kaito knew what he was doing was risky, allowing the detective to see him at his weakest and giving him so much information. But his instincts were telling him that he could trust Kudo Shinichi, and Kaito's instincts were rarely wrong.

Shinichi seemed to realise the conclusion he had reached, because he nodded, and turned towards the door. "Then I'll go ahead and meet up with the task force. You didn't use a decoy tonight, so they're probably still searching the building for you. I'll tell Nakamori-keibu that I chased you to the roof but you escaped."

There was one more thing Kaito had to know. "Meitantei," he called. Shinichi, his hand already on the door handle, paused to look back, his eyes questioning.

"Why?"

 _Why are you helping me? What do you want?_ Were left unsaid, but Kaito had a feeling that the detective heard them all the same.

Shinichi looked down, to where his hand was clenched reflexively around the door handle, choosing his words carefully. "Because you helped me first," he said, "and now you're hurt because of me, too." He was obviously referring to Kaito's head, and Kaito refrained from pointing out that if Shinichi hadn't tackled him over the roof, he'd had a bullet in it instead, and in his opinion, a concussed Kaitou KID was much preferable to a dead one.

"But it's not just that. It's also because I feel that I can trust you, and…" Kaito could see that the detective was struggling with his next words, like he wasn't sure how much he should be telling him. "And because you're as much of a victim of _them_ as I am." Kaito had not been expecting that last part, including the harsh anger that percolated the other's voice when he spoke, and he threw the detective a curious look to indicate so.

Shinichi gave him a small smile in return, and it looked so trusting and broken and _sad_ that Kaito's heart ached. "I need your help," Shinichi admitted softly. "Meet me at the top of the clock tower after your next heist. I have information about the sniper who shot at you and the organization he belongs to. I think…I think it's the same one that's after me. It's probably difficult for you to trust me now, but believe me when I say that they have to be stopped, and I can't do this on my own."

The detective was halfway out of the door when he paused.

"Be careful, KID." And he was gone.

* * *

 _Kuroba Kaito, age 19. The beginning of the end._

Of course he had considered the possibility of it being a trap, but all things in life are a gamble, and this was one gamble Kaito was willing to take. If nothing else, he was curious to know what information the detective had and what else he had in mind concerning the organization.

And if he was being completely honest with himself, the detective's lonely smile and quiet admission _I can't do this on my own_ that night had already decided for him that this was something he could not leave alone.

As he glided down to land soundlessly on the clock tower's roof, the lack of listening devices, cameras or people, hidden or otherwise, with the exception of Shinichi sans anesthetic watch proved that his gamble had indeed paid off. Deactivating his glider, he walked over to the detective sitting on the edge of the roof, and sat down beside him.

"You came." The detective's voice carried a faint hint of relief in it. Kaito pretended not to notice.

"Of course I would. You intrigue me, Meitantei. Not many detectives arrange clandestine moonlight meetings with the criminals they're supposed to catch."

Blue eyes flickered towards him before glancing away just as quickly, a faint blush appearing on their owner's face. "Right back at you, you stupid thief. Most criminals don't actually show up to the clandestine meetings- they'll usually end up in jail. How's your head?"

Kaito grinned. "Ah, but you forget that I am no ordinary criminal. To put me in jail, you'd have to _catch_ me first, don't you?

"And my head's fine. Were you worried, Meitantei?" Kaito teased, his grin widening when Shinichi turned absolutely _scarlet_ , burying his head in his hands with a groan.

"I should have known you'd be fine, your head was probably already damaged in the first place," the detective muttered petulantly, his voice muffled. Kaito couldn't help it; he laughed, the sound loud and real, startling Shinichi into looking up at him. His detective was so _cute_ when embarrassed; and it was certainly better than that lost, world-weary expression he wore at the previous heist.

"It probably is," Kaito agreed cheerfully, "but you asked me for my help, so what does that say about you?" He lets out another laugh at the detective's pained groan, before letting himself grow serious. "But all jokes aside, Meitantei, I came here fully prepared to offer my help, so what exactly is your plan?" Shinichi sobered immediately, his expression growing pensive as he looked out at the city below them. "I'm not exactly sure where to start…" he began.

"You could start from the beginning."

"The beginning?" Shinichi looks at him askance, not fully comprehending what the magician means.

"You know- you give me your story, and I'll give you mine. Then we'll see where to go from there."

Shinichi nods. "Okay, the beginning then." He takes a deep breath, and Kaito can tell that he is mentally steeling himself, to share the story that has changed his life irrevocably over the past three years. Kaito remains silent, giving the detective all the time that he needs.

"It all started when I was sixteen years old…"

They talk for hours, trading stories in their strange little bubble above the rest of the world. Shinichi tells him about the apotoxin, about the temporary antidotes that filled him with crushing hope and fear each time he used them, about the things Conan had to do just so he could do the things Shinichi had always been able to.

In return, Kaito tells him about the first Kaitou KID, the greatest magician who ever lived, and how he was killed over a gem that was said could grant immortality, about how he took up the mantle and turned himself into a giant white target to lure the killers out, about how he had a no-hurt policy at his heists because magic was never meant to kill, only to entertain and amaze (and because he'd already hurt just about everyone who truly cared about him with the lies he's been forced to tell for the sake of his mission, but he didn't think this was knowledge he trusted the detective with just yet, even though he knew that he was probably the only one who could understand).

As the timelines of their stories begin to coincide, Shinichi explains his plan, and Kaito picks out the flaws in it, alters it, makes it stronger and better somehow. It becomes a plan that they could pull off and still come out alive from, instead of the suicide mission Shinichi had made it seem initially.

And as the first rays of dawn flood the city with light, they sit together in comfortable, companionable silence, and Kaito thinks it's probably pretty clichéd (but he's Kaitou KID, he practically lives off cheesy one-liners and dramatic settings) that the sight of the sunrise fills him with hope. He turns his head to find the detective looking at him strangely, and he suddenly realises that it's the first time Shinichi is seeing him in sunlight, seeing his whole face without shadow obscuring it, and it's scary how the thought isn't scary at all.

One night is all it takes, hasn't he proven that himself often enough? One night for a jewel to be stolen, one night for all traces of a heist and its phantom thief to disappear, one night to close the gap between reluctant allies and friends.

He lets the detective look his fill, and waits for him to speak. But all the detective does is smile, and ask, "So… Are you in?"

Kaito considers this, even though he knows he's already made up his mind. After all, he wouldn't have spent the whole night planning if he didn't intend to personally see it come to fruition. He grins.

"Where else would I be?"

* * *

 _Kuroba Kaito, age 24. The end of the end._

Not once had either of them been under the impression that it would be easy, but neither had they foreseen how tough it would be or how long it would take, too. The Organisation was much more far-reaching than they had first suspected, and they agreed that it was safer not to get anyone else involved unless they absolutely had to. The newly-returned Kudo Shinichi disappeared from the public eye once again, while Kaito added an impressive number of lies to his already overflowing repertoire. But through it all, they had each other's backs, the detective and the thief, putting all their faith and hope and trust in the other because they were the only ones they had in their isolated world of danger and deceit. And when it was just two people against the world, it was only natural that they would come to mean more than the world to each other.

The day finally came when the sunrise once again filled Kaito with hope, when the last of the black crows were behind bars and Shinichi was sitting up in his hospital bed, awake and breathing and _alive,_ recovering from a gunshot wound- Gin's last parting gift to the detective before he killed himself, choosing death over police capture. For one frightening moment Kaito had thought he had been too late, as he watched Shinichi's blood well up around his hands where they were pressed over the wound, thinking how unfair it was if Shinichi died right after he'd just gotten his life back. He can't help thinking that if he had been just a few seconds earlier, a few seconds quicker to realise that Gin had pointed a gun at his detective's back…

A tug on his sleeve made him look down. "Kaito," Shinichi said (of course he knew his name; in the years they'd worked together, Kaito had come to trust the detective with his life,and what was a name in the face of something as huge as that?), "you couldn't have done anything to prevent it, you know that, right?"

"I know," Kaito says with a tired smile. Then, at Shinichi's skeptical look, leans down, and kisses the detective soundly on the lips. He murmurs against Shinichi's mouth, "I was just thinking, if Gin had managed to actually kill you, then I wouldn't be able to do what I've wanted to do since the day you gave me a concussion."

He quickly pulls away when he hears the beeping of the heart monitor ratchet up to a frantic pace, his lips quirking upwards at the stunned look on the detective's face. "I..." Shinichi's hand is raised halfway to his mouth, blue eyes wide as he stares at Kaito.

"I'd like to try, if you'll let me," Kaito tells him seriously. At Shinichi's lack of response (he was probably still in shock), he smiles, and turns to leave. "But don't worry too much about it, okay? Focus on recovering first. I'll give you as much time as you need to think about it. I should probably go find the nurse-"

"Wait," Shinichi's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist in a firm, albeit weak grip. "I'd like that. To try. Um. With…With you, I mean," he stammered out, blushing a furious red, and even Kaito couldn't hide the wide grin and mirroring blush appearing on his own face. Even so, he had to ask… "Are you sure? I meant it when I said you can have all the time you need to think about it. You don't have to come to a decision immediately."

Shinichi closed his eyes, collecting himself. And when he opened them again, he spoke with unwavering determination in his voice. "I'm sure. If there's anything I've learned in these five years, it's that I trust you more than anyone else in the world. I trusted you with my life, I trusted you to help me with my mission- and see it through to the end. And now," his eyes found Kaito's, and they seemed to pin him in place from the sheer intensity of their gaze, "now, I know I can trust you with my heart." Kaito was positive that his face was redder than a tomato now, Poker Face be damned, and for a few seconds the only sounds in the room were that of Shinichi's heart monitor and his own heart, thumping traitorously loud in his chest.

Then Shinichi snorted, and carefully shifted to one side of the bed. "Get in here, you stupid thief. You look like you're about to drop dead on your feet." Kaito climbed in wordlessly- being mindful of the IV and various other tubes the detective was connected to, arranging himself until he was lying on his side, facing Shinichi. A few moments passed between them before Kaito spoke.

"So… How different are things going to be from now on?" Kaito asks, draping an arm over the detective's waist.

"I don't see why anything should change. We're already on first-name basis, and we've practically lived together for five years. The only difference would be now that all this is over, I would have to officially introduce you to my friends, I guess." Shinichi breathes out a laugh when Kaito absentmindedly starts drawing circles at the base of his spine. "Stop that; it tickles!"

"And you don't mind that your boyfriend's a thief?" Kaito murmurs, his voice drowsy with sleep.

"Of course I don't. It's not like you ever hurt anyone, and you steal to stop a greater evil. That's a good enough reason in my books," Shinichi answers, before he realises that the thief in question had fallen asleep on his arm. He pulls Kaito closer until their foreheads touch, and closes his eyes. "You probably already knew the answer before you asked, didn't you," he murmurs with a fond smile.

* * *

 _Kuroba Kaito, age 27. The End._

"You found it?"

"Yeah, I…I did. I almost can't believe it." The stone in his hand glows red, and when he holds it up, it throws off red light in all directions like a well-cut diamond.

A laugh from the person at the other end. "I'm happy for you, Kaito."

"…Do you think my dad's proud of me?"

"Of course he is. I don't think he ever stopped being proud of you."

"Heh. Thanks, Shin-chan."

"You're welcome. Make sure it's gone for good, we don't know if there are other organisations out there who'd do anything to get their hands on it either."

"Don't worry your pretty head over it, Meitantei. After I'm done with it, there'll be nothing left of Pandora for anyone to find. I'll see you at home?"

"Tch," the voice on the other end said, and Kaito would bet his hanglider that the voice's owner was redder than a beetroot now. "Just make sure you don't blow up half the city doing it. I'll start making dinner." _Click._

Kaito grinned as he made his phone disappear with a twirl of his hand and a puff of white smoke. Everything was going perfectly recently, and finding Pandora now of all times only contributed to his plans.

One hour later, Kaito entered the Kudo mansion to a silent house and no detective. A peek into the dining room told him that dinner was made and laid out on the table and- was that _wine?_ He knew for a fact that the detective didn't drink, since alcohol "confused his thought process", according to the detective. Shinichi probably decided that today was a special occasion and brought it out. Kaito grinned to himself. Very soon, they would have more to celebrate than just finding and destroying Pandora for good.

Rustling in their shared bedroom caught his attention, and as he moved toward it, he heard Shinichi speaking, his voice low so he couldn't make out the words. He had a guest, then? But it sounded more like he was talking to himself.

"Shin-chan?" Kaito called softly. The talking abruptly stopped and Shinichi pulled the bedroom door open. And Kaito's eyebrows climbed up so high they almost disappeared into his hairline, his eyes raking up and down his partner's body. Not that he didn't appreciate it, but…a _suit?_ He was fairly certain they were having dinner at home, not outside, and Shinichi didn't even dress _this_ formally when they ate out!

"Could you…come in for a second?" Shinichi was holding the door open, his expression an adorable mix of nervousness and anticipation. Well, it didn't seem like he had bad news of any sort, and Kaito was eager to find out what the detective was planning.

Stepping into the center of the room, Kaito spun in a slow circle, mind cataloguing each detail, but nothing seemed out of place besides Shinichi in his suit. Shinichi, who was walking towards him. Shinichi, who was reaching one hand into his suit pocket. Shinichi, who…

Who was getting down on one knee in front of him.

No.

Freaking.

Way.

"You-!" Kaito gaped at Shinichi, who smiled sheepishly up at him from behind the ring box. "I've been planning this for a while, and when you called me saying you found Pandora… I just thought it was a good opportunity." The detective was grinning like he'd just won the lottery (he could just as well have, because Kaito could count on one hand the number of people who'd managed to thoroughly surprise him as much as Shinichi had with this).

"You-!" For the first time in his life, Kaito found himself speechless, sputtering as he tried to form words. "I can't believe you!" he finally bursts out, pointing one accusing finger at a wide-eyed Shinichi, whose expression had morphed from sheepishness to confusion. "Um… Should I take that as a no?" the detective asks unsurely, beginning to rise from his current position.

"I can't believe you _beat me to it!_ " Shinichi froze, disbelief clear on his face as Kaito too falls onto one knee beside him, a similar small black box appearing in his hand. When he opens it, the engraved _"Arrest my heart?"_ on the silver band is a perfect complement to the _"Steal my heart?"_ engraved on Shinichi's, and they fall laughing helplessly against each other, their shoulders shaking and tears rolling down their cheeks from mirth.

When they finally calmed down enough to pull apart, Shinichi looks fondly at Kaito, tears of laughter still in his eyes. He is hit by the memory of looking at him at the top of the Clock Tower many years ago, seeing Kaitou KID bathed in sunlight for the first time. And suddenly he knows exactly what to say, despite the numerous failed, stunted speeches practiced in front of his mirror whenever Kaito wasn't around. He holds the ring out to Kaito. "So… Are you in?" Shinichi asks, smiling. _This time, it's for the long haul._

Kaito grins, and answers the detective even though they both already knew what he would say.

"Where else would I be?" _Forever would be too short a time, my dear Meitantei._

* * *

I didn't plan to make this a long fic, so I left out how they took down the Black Org to focus more on their relationship.

Happy Birthday, Kaito! Enjoy your domestic bliss with Shinichi- you both deserve it after all you've been through~3


End file.
